My Hair Journey

Unique, self-assured and utterly gorgeous, these women tell us how they finally ditched the straightening tools and embraced their natural hair.

“I love being that woman with big, curly hair”

Eleanor Barkes, 35, travels the world coaching women about curls, after learning to accept her own.

I started embracing my natural hair when I was 31 and had just moved to Tokyo. My hair was breaking off because it was constantly dried out, so I started Googling natural ways to take care of curly hair. I really didn’t know anything about natural hair care, so I did it all by trial and error, reading blogs and importing products to Tokyo.

Since then, I’ve come to understand all the different curl types that I have; the ones on the crown of my head, for example, are tighter and drier than the rest, so I apply more product to keep that section moisturised. The curls in the nape of my neck are much looser and need less moisture. That’s pretty much it: I just apply more or less product, depending on how well a specific area retains moisture.

My advice to anyone transitioning to natural hair? Keep it moisturised with a good leave-in conditioner, followed by an oil (try coconut or olive), then go for a style that will blend the two textures (curly and straight) together nicely – a roller-set, twist-out or braid-out works well. My hair loves coconut, avocado and olive oils, as well as aloe, and shea and walnut butters. I look for products that contain these ingredients, and avoid anything containing sulphates or mineral oils. Sulphates may clean your hair and remove product buildup, but they also strip it of natural oils, and tend to leave it dry and straw-like. They can also cause scalp irritation and hair loss.